[Note] Hello - this is an old post that I’ve moved over from my Tumblr. I’ve just copied the words and pictures across.
My measurements are all over the place, especially in the trouser department. I pretty much can’t wear ready-to-wear tailored trousers because my hips are two dress sizes bigger than my waist and my legs are too long (POORRRR MEEEEE). But today! Today is the beginning of me having trousers that fit properly. Once I’ve figured out a basic pattern I’ll be sorted for life! Or until I gain or lose weight. Ahem.
The pattern
The pattern is Simple Sews Classic Trouser. It was between this pattern and the “Ultimate Trouser” from Sew Over It. They’re very similar but it seems like the Simple Sews pattern has a waistband which the Ultimate Trouser doesn’t, that swung it for me.
The instructions were a little light on details and I wouldn’t buy a pattern from Simple Sews again. The actual pattern is fine though and, having made a pair of shorts once a long time ago, I was able to figure out how to make it work.
Since I always have fit problems with trousers I made a muslin first in a straight size 16. It fit me across the hips but was so big around the waist that hip-fit was academic because they just fell right down! Based on this I cut a size 14 and then graded up to a 16 around the hips. Instead of following the assembly instructions, which say add the waistband before assembling the legs, I assembled the legs first, so I could see where I might still need to alter the waist.
I ended up taking a 3 inch wedge out of the centre back of the trousers as they were still too big at the waist (told you I have fit issues).
Fabric
The fabric is from Minerva Crafts, and I bought it at the same time as the tropical fabric that I used in the Alder shirtdress. I have a trip to Texas planned in July and am planning on dressing like a Florida retiree on a coach tour for the duration, these trousers are a big part of that.
Though these trousers fit me pretty well, the crazy print is distracting from a few fit problems in the crotch area (there appears to be some excess fabric), which would be much more noticeable in a plain fabric. Not every day is a jazzy-pant day, so I’m probably going to do some iterating on the fit of these for the next pair of trousers I make.
